Professional Teeth Whitening vs. White Strips

Posted Jun 27th, 2018

If you are considering whitening your teeth, you probably know that there are lots of options to choose from. Here’s why our Calgary dentists recommend professional teeth whitening instead of over-the-counter white strips.

While professional teeth whitening is more costly than white strips, it may be worth the extra cost both in terms of convenience and efficacy.

White Strips

Over the counter white strips remove surface stains from your teeth, and you can easily pick up a box of them from the pharmacy without consulting your dentist.

However, there are some limitations to these sorts of products.

For one thing, they can be rather cumbersome to use, and may slip easily out of position. This can be rather annoying to manage! In addition, white strips do not whiten all of your teeth. They only fit over the front six (or so) teeth.

If you are looking to significantly whiten your smile, white strips may not achieve the effect you are hoping for. This is because they only remove some of the surface stains on your teeth; they don’t lighten the actual colour of your teeth at all.

Professional Whitening

Professional whitening typically comes in two forms, and you can choose the one that best suits your preferences.

In-office whitening is done in your dentist’s office in one or two individual sessions. Take-home teeth whitening trays, as prescribed by your dentist, offer similar results over a longer period of time.

With the take-home trays (which will be custom-made for your teeth), you’ll apply the whitening formula daily for a designated period of time, until you have achieved the desired results.

The option you choose depends mainly on your preferences, though your dentist may recommend the milder take-home option if you have sensitive teeth.

Whichever option you choose, professional teeth whitening results in a whiter, brighter smile than over-the-counter options, as it lightens the colour of your teeth in addition to removing stains. This is achieved through a stronger bleaching formula than can be purchased without prescription at the pharmacy.